Wandering Fox
by foxsage
Summary: After losing something special,Naruto quits being a shinobi.As he wanders around aimlessly, he meets someone that will change his life forever... or the way he fights."Young one,that is not how you hold a sword." Narusaku.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I had this story in my head for a very long...long...long time, and I finally had the energy to write it out. So please have a read and tell me what you think :)**

_Italics _are flashbacks.

**Wandering Fox**

**Prologue: This one...**

His life as a ninja was over.

Naruto walked on the empty road, alone and...Depressed, if anyone were to walk the same road could tell that the blond was in an emotional breakdown. Just one look could tell that, from the way he walks, with how his hair was covering his eyes, and the expression of his face. The past few weeks were the hardest for him, he had just lost the most dearest thing to him. She was gone... and he survived. Why didn't she just let him die? It would've been better.

Naruto then suddenly fell down. Now, he let tears sliding down his face, landing on the dirt ground with a 'plop'. The memories of her flooded his head, if would just let him die – everything would've been better. Now, his tears weren't the only liquid dripping, it seemed like the sky was crying with him. The rain poured down, from just little by little to a whole downpour.

His once glowing spiky blond hair was now dull and soggy. His once bright blue eyes were now dark and empty like the black hole itself. Everything about him that used to be full of positive energy was now changed into negative energy. The tragedy that occurred in a mission a couple of weeks ago was the hardest thing he ever had to face in his entire life. It was because of him that she died... it was all because of him.

Naruto fisted both hands as the memory of it replaying in his mind.

_Naruto collapsed onto the ground, his body covered in cuts, bruises and burns. He had just used the power of the nine-tails again, and because of that, his body was now weak, the weakest he ever felt in his life, even after he defeated pain, his body never felt this weak. He then suddenly coughed out blood, it never happened before, was there something wrong with his body?_

_At thundering roar was then heard from behind. Out of reaction, Naruto managed to jump out of the way of the charging beast. To be exact, it was the four-tailed beast. Naruto or anyone else on this mission hadn't expected the Akatsuki would use the tailed beast. And because of the beast, three quarters of the people who were part of the mission died. Now it was only him, Sakura, Kakashi, Yamato and Sai. Naruto suddenly felt a jolt of pain in his chest, the pain was so overwhelming that it made him collapsed on the ground, unable to move._

_He tried to move his body, but it declined, it was as if, all the energy from his body was sucked out of him. Naruto laid there in pain, feeling weak and useless. How was he supposed to protect the others if he was like this? "I need to get up." Naruto groaned, he tried pushing his body up, but like before, his body wouldn't respond. "Damn it!" He muttered, the harder he forced his body to move, the more his body ached in pain. _

_The voice of Sakura made him jerked his head up, his eyes widened as he saw Sakura on the ground. His heart then felt relieved as he saw her stood up._

_Naruto then sensed the beast charging towards them. But when he looked at the direction where the beast was coming from, Naruto could tell that it was going for Sakura. His eyes then travelled to Sakura, she was still trying to stand up. Naruto knew that in Sakura's current state, she wouldn't be able to dodge the charging 'red gorilla'._

_With all his might, Naruto bounce straight up onto his feet and pushed Sakura out of the way, far enough so that she was out of the Yonbi's range, but, as a result of saving her, he was the one who got hit instead. It knocked him off his feet, throwing him back against the trees behind him. Naruto couldn't do anything at this point, he used his remaining energy to save Sakura, now, his body laid against a tree that he had hit from the impact. He was motionless as he couldn't feel his body. Naruto knew that he probably had a couple of broken bones or maybe damaged organs, but he didn't care, at least he saved the one he loved._

_Naruto heard footsteps and someone calling his name, he recognised that voice, that beautiful angelic voice...it was Sakura's voice. She was calling his name; he loved the sound of her calling his name. He then felt her presence beside him, turned his head slightly to the side where Sakura was. She was currently kneeling beside him, trying with all her energy trying to heal him. Naruto could see that she was crying, her face was red, and her eyes were full of tears. Naruto raised his aching hand to her face and wiped a tear off, "Please don't cry Sakura-chan, it doesn't suit you." Said Naruto, gently caressing her cheek even though his arm was weak and was in pain, but he just had to feel her skin against his._

"_Naruto, don't talk, please, just hang on..." she begged. _

_Naruto smiled weakly, his eyes suddenly felt heavy, and he felt the urge to close them. His body was becoming weaker by the second, slowly, Naruto let his eyelids close, the image of Sakura crying and begging him to stay with her, he wished he could, but it seemed like this was his time. He then said the very thing that he was trying to tell her from the first time he saw her, "I love you Sakura-chan" he managed to say, it was barely a whisper, but he knew Sakura would hear it, and that was when he let himself go. _

_Everything just went blank. _

That was all Naruto could remember from the battle where he 'should've' died. But after that, everything started getting worst.

_Naruto slightly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the colour white, he could've thought that it was heaven, but his nose picked up the unforgettable smell of the hospital. So he was alive, and since he was in the hospital, was the mission a success? Were the remaining members of the mission okay... was Sakura okay?_

_Naruto slowly pushed his body upwards using his forearms. His body was in a lot of pain, so it was hard for him to move, since every movement he makes with his body, a jolt of pain attacks him. He stayed in the upright sitting position for a while before dropping back down onto the pillow gently. Naruto just watched the ceiling for a few minutes with thoughts about how the mission went. _

_The door then suddenly opened, revealing the Godaime Hokage. Naruto saw that Tsunade was surprised to see him awake. "Hi baa-chan," Naruto greeted, "Is everyone else okay?" Tsunade looked away._

_Naruto knew now that there was something wrong. It worried him to death, if anything happened to the others while, "Tsunade baa-chan, what happen to the rest?" Naruto asked, using a more serious tone._

_She didn't answer._

"_Tsunade, what happened?" Naruto asked again._

"_Don't worry Naruto, get some rest for now. We'll talk about the mission later, ok." Tsunade said calmly. Naruto knew that she was hiding something from him but even if he wanted to push the answer right out of her right now, in his current condition would be useless. He should just wait till when they will have their 'talk'._

_She then left, leaving Naruto alone in his room. Naruto stared out the window, he could tell that today was very lively outside, maybe, if everything for the next for days are quiet, he could ask Sakura for a date. Naruto smiled at the thought; hopefully Sakura would accept his offer. Naruto's brain suddenly remembered the words he said to Sakura. He blushed. What did Sakura think of him when he said it? Does she love him back or she didn't take those words seriously?_

_After a week of being in the hospital, Naruto walked through the corridor to the Hokage's office. He didn't look to happy, especially that Sakura hadn't visited him when he was in the hospital, though he always thought that she was on another mission. Also, on his way here, he didn't see her anywhere, he had been to her apartment this morning but found that it was empty. From then on, he was pissed and worried at the same time._

_He knocked on the big two doors that leads into the Hokage's office, after hearing the Hokage's confirmation, slowly, he pushed on the door while twisting the door knob. He went inside slowly, and walked to the front of Tsunade's desk. Naruto could tell that she was stressed and that she was... crying, and a lot too. This worried him, why was she crying? "Baa-chan, are you alright?" Naruto gently asked._

_She looked up, "Yeah, I'm alright Naruto" she answered, "And about the mission..." she paused for a second and took a deep-breath. _

_Naruto stood in front of her desk waiting for her to continue. On the inside, Naruto's heart was aching for the answer, he really wanted to know, and the way that everybody was keeping it as a secret, it made him desperate to know._

_Tsunade sighed, "The mission was a failure, after you got badly injured, well, when you were dead, Kakashi decided to pull back, since there was really no chance to win against the tailed beast or Akatsuki with the current ninjas left." Tsunade explained._

"_So the rest are okay?" Naruto asked his voice full of hope._

"_Not everyone." Tsunade said and closed her eyes._

"_What do you mean 'not everyone'?" Naruto's heart was beating faster by the second._

_Tsunade looked away as she said this, "Naruto, Sakura didn't make it back."_

_Naruto heart stopped, causing him to stumble backwards, "That can't be true, I saved her before she got hit. That was why I passed out." Naruto protested._

"_Really, cos' you wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for her. You were dead and she saved you. Didn't you know that?"_

_Naruto suddenly felt harder to breath, it now took more effort to breath properly. Naruto clutched his chest. He stumble backwards, it was as if that his lungs weren't working properly. He started to hyperventilate, "This can't be happening, she can't be DEAD!" Naruto yelled breathlessly, "She can't be." Naruto was know on his knees, still clutching his chest._

"_Calm down Naruto!"_

_He was gasping for air, his chest ached in pain. His heart was beating too fast that he felt that it was going to explode. Sakura, how could she die? The pain in his chest suddenly stooped and his eyelids were becoming heavy, then, everything went blank._

_..._

"_Naruto, wake up." Naruto heard the voice, it was faint but it was enough to be heard. It was Tsunade's voice._

_Slowly, Naruto opened his eyes slightly, only letting a bit of light in. He saw a faint but enough to see image of Tsunade. He groaned as he opened his eyes completely, the light was overwhelming his eyes, "Baa-chan, pull the curtain. There's too much light!" Naruto complained._

"_Oh stop whining, just get use to it!" Tsunade replied._

_Again, Naruto slowly opened his eyes slightly, letting the light in bit by bit. When his vision was back to normal, he found out that he was in the hospital again. "Why am I here?" Naruto asked, looking around the room while scratching his head as if he was lost._

"_You fainted in my office, from hyperventilating too much" Naruto had a clueless expression on his face, "Don't you remember, about Sakura."_

_Sakura_

_His memory flashed back to the talk he had with Tsunade, about the mission, about how he died... and about Sakura saving him. How could he not remember? "I don't get it, why did she do it? Why did she exchange her life for mine?" Naruto looked down._

_Tsunade put a hand on his shoulder, "Because she cares about you, Naruto."_

_Naruto then started to cry, tears were dripping down his face. "Still, my life is life was not worth it. She could've had a family!" Naruto covered his face with both of his hands as he cried harder. It was his fault that she was gone._

"_Snap out of it Naruto!" yelled Tsunade, "It was her decision to save your life and you should be grateful for what she did. And wasn't it your decision to push her out of the way so you get hit instead? Wasn't what she was doing the same thing that you did, huh?"_

"_BUT SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE!" Naruto shouted back._

"_BUT SHE CHOSE TO!" Tsunade shouted._

_Naruto was silent. He had nothing else to say. All the things that Tsunade had said was true, it was Sakura's decision. A question popped up in his head. Slowly, Naruto looked up to Tsunade, "Tsunade how did she save me if I was already dead?"_

"_You probably haven't seen it yet, but there is a seal on your stomach, above your other seal" Tsunade answered, pointing at his bandage covered stomach._

Naruto, now sitting under a tree on the side of the road, watched the rain continued to pour down. He was completely soaked, from his orange and black jacket, to his orange pants. All those memories were still replaying through his mind. He hated it and wanted it all to just vanish. Because of her death, he had been in a depression for weeks. He would always lock himself in his apartment, sitting in a corner and looking at the picture of him and Sakura standing together at a festival. He didn't go on any missions or at least go out for training, he didn't even went out for Ramen for those few weeks.

He pulled his orange and black jacket over his head and threw it beside him. It seemed like his black shirt was soaked as well, so he decided to take it off too. He put the soaked shirt to where he threw his jacket. There were still some bandages covering part of his body – like his shoulder and chest. His fingers lightly trace the diamond shaped seal on his stomach. The seal was a special jutsu that Sakura created. It was declared as an S-rank forbidden technique, since the user dies from using it.

Naruto then remembered the conversation he had with Kakashi about how Sakura saved him, it seemed that the user of the jutsu does not only die, but their body also vanished. So it explains why Sakura's body wasn't found. Before he knew that information, he always thought that Sakura was kidnapped by the enemy. Naruto shook his head and huffed, the memory was somehow funny because he was full on panicking about where Sakura was.

He smiled to himself, but the smile faded quickly and turned into a frown as Naruto saw his Leaf forehead protector in the pocket of his jacket, it brought back bad memories. It was the memory of when he asked Tsunade about quitting his ninja career. Naruto looked up at the sky while in his head, the memory was being replayed.

"_You can't be serious Naruto. Quitting being a ninja? That's totally not you!" _

"_Baa-chan, you have to understand, I just don't have the motivation to continue being a ninja." _

_Tsunade sighed, "But Naruto, you have to think this through properly. You will regret this one day, and don't forget your dream of being Hokage one day." said Tsunade._

"_How can I be Hokage if I can't lead a mission properly? The last mission was a total failure! Barely anyone made it out alive and the same for me too. I was supposed to die in that mission too! Remember?" Naruto untied his forehead protector and threw it into Tsunade's hand, "There's the headband, now I'm not a Konoha ninja anymore."_

_Naruto watched as Tsunade gripped his headband tighter, she closed her eyes for a second. When she opened her eyes, she threw back the headband to Naruto. Naruto looked confused and was about to say something but Tsunade beat him to it, "Keep it. it will be a reminder of you once serving Konoha as a shinobi. I know that thing has a lot of memory in it, so you keep it." Tsunade said and smiled weakly. Naruto saw that the smile was a sad one, it pained him to see it, but quitting being a ninja was the only think for him to do, so he can get away and think about everything that has happened in the past for a while._

The rain finally stopped, the sun was coming out, and everything was damp and muddy, so Naruto decided to just stay under the tree for a while to wait for everything to dry up; including his clothes, and himself. Naruto sighed, he was almost out of the border of the Fire country, but where would he go next? That question was running through his head since he left the village. How could he not think about it before he left the village? He really was stupid sometimes.

Naruto rested his head against the tree, feeling the roughness of the bark against the back of his head. He felt really tired, more tired than he should be feeling – maybe it was because of him not doing anything for weeks. He must be really out of shape.

His ninja senses started tingling, someone was approaching from the other end of the road. Naruto didn't move, just looked at who it was. The unknown person finally came into view; he looked like a swordsman, a samurai to be exact. He was wearing a hakamashita, the top part red and the hakama white.

The person was currently walking with his eyes closed, like he was in deep thought. His left hand was gripping the sheath of his katana that was tied to his belt. The person was close enough to see the face. Naruto saw that the person has light orange hair, tied into a ponytail. The person's face has an x-shaped scar on the left cheek. Overall, the person's face looked almost feminine, but still somehow it has a masculine side to it; the person was also not that tall.

Naruto watched the person walked, from when he first was in sight, to when he was in front of Naruto. The person suddenly stopped, he was just in front of Naruto. He slightly opened his eyes and stared down at Naruto, "You alright, young one?" the person asked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, young one? No one calls him young one, even his enemies never call him that, "Who you calling young one! I'm seventeen, so that means I'm pretty old." Naruto replied.

The person chuckled. He turned his body around so he was facing Naruto, "Seventeen ay, that's still pretty young from where I came from." He person gave a light smile.

The way the person smiled was sweet; His face expression was soft, almost like a girl's. Naruto found it weird – all the males he saw never had soft face like this person in front of him... how weird. "Yeah, that's from where you came from, but here – if you become a shinobi, you're considered as an adult."

"Oh, so you are a ninja, young one?" he asked, his face looked very curious, like a child's face.

"Well I was, but I quit." Naruto answered, looking down at his feet.

"You quit? Why?"

"Don't worry, it's a very long story." Naruto replied.

Suddenly, the person sat down cross legged in front of him. Naruto looked at him with curiosity, what was this person doing? "Uh, what are you doing?"

"I'm sitting down. You said that it was a long story, that's why I'm sitting down. You don't expect me to stand up through your whole story, do you?" He said.

Naruto sweat-dropped, this guy was weird. "Fine, if want to know. It started about five weeks ago. I was chosen as the leader for a very important mission. The mission was an S-Rank, so it was pretty important for my ninja career. I made the mission as a test, so I can test myself, if I can lead the mission without any flaws, it would mean that I'm one step closer to achieving my lifelong dream."

"So what is this dream of yours?" the person asked.

Naruto grinned, "To be Hokage, greater than the ones before!"

"Hokage huh, so you are from Konoha, are you not?"

"Yeah I was, but I don't know when I would be returning back." The grin on Naruto's face disappeared.

"Oh. So you quit being a ninja and left the village?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Why?" The person simply asked.

"Because, on that special mission, so many lives were lost and the one life that I have sworn to protect, died. It was because I'm weak! I wasn't strong enough to protect all of them." Tears were now forming in Naruto's eyes. They almost dropped until a hand was put on his shoulder. Naruto looked up at the person, he was smiling at him. The smile somehow cheered Naruto up a bit, it made him feel better.

"So, is that why you're depressed. Young one, no one is strong enough to protect everyone, you know that you're just human, you are not god."

"NO! I may be human, but it was my responsibility to protect them, to protect her!"

The person sighed but the smile still stayed on, "Look. You may not have succeeded in protecting them all, but at least you tried. At least they know that you tried, and that was enough."

What the person said was true. He did try to protect them all. Finally, a smile appeared on Naruto's face, "Thank you, sword guy!" The smile on Naruto's face turned into a grin.

"No problem, but this one's name is Kenshin... Kenshin Himura."

"And My name is Naruto... Naruto Uzumaki!"

Kenshin then stood up, "Well this one has to go now, so I hope we cross road again one day." Kenshin said, smiling. He then turned around and started walking in the direction where he was walking before.

Naruto also stood up, "Wait, Kenshin-san!"

Kenshin stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Naruto, "Oro?"

"Can I come with you? I have nowhere else to go anyway." Naruto asked.

Kenshin smiled, "So, the young one wants to become a rurouni like this one?"

Naruto looked confuse, what the heck was a rurouni? Wait. His mind then started searching for a match for the word. Flash! He found it. A rurouni is someone who wanders around. so this person with the x-shaped scar is a Wandering Samurai. So if he goes with this guy, he would become a Wandering Shinobi! No, wait. Wandering Fox! That sounded much better.

Naruto smiled back, "A rurouni this one is!" Naruto exclaimed. He never knew why Kenshin said 'this one' but it sounds cool! To Naruto anyway.

**End Prologue**

AN: Okay, this is the first chapter. I have a feeling this story is going to be great. So for you readers that do not have a clue what the plot for this story is, you just have to wait for the next chapter. Remember, this is just the prologue, it does not tell what the plot of this story will be. So if you want to find out – wait for the next chapter.

Please review this story, it would help a bunch. I'm expecting this story to have more than 10 reviews, so for all you readers, please make that dream come true and i promise you won't regret it :)

Until next time!

PEACE!


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, this is the second chapter. And people have been asking me about Sakura, hmm is she alive... well she is but I'm not telling you how she is, you just have to find out :) And anyway, this is a light chapter so please enjoy and review!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**Wandering Fox**

**Chapter 1: To hold a sword...**

Naruto smiled as he breathed in the fresh air around him. It was another day on the road, wandering around with his 'wandering companion' – Kenshin. The two had been travelling around for a two months. He had to admit, it was pretty fun travelling around. It reminded him of his time with his old sensei – Jiraiya. Naruto remembered the gutsy grin that Jiraiya always ahs on his face. It brought back memories... memories that made him remembered about a certain pink-haired kunoichi.

Lately, he had been having dreams about her. It was always at the same place. It was always him, leaning against a cherry-blossom tree, and _her_ leaning against him. Naruto wondered if the dream was telling him something, but he never did get to figure it out.

"Young one..."

"Huh?" Naruto looked around. It was Kenshin calling him. "What is it Kenshin-san?"

Kenshin rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I lost the map."

Naruto's left eye twitch, yup, it was another day for a rurouni. "I just got that map yesterday!" Naruto snapped.

_**Hours Later...**_

_Naruto slightly opened his eyes, letting out a flash of blue. He eyed his surroundings with his half-lidded eyes. The sky was somehow the colour white, white as chalk. The land around him was covered by grass, no mountains, no hills, and no other trees except the one he's leaning on. It was a very weird but beautiful place. Though, he already knew what this place was – he's having those dreams again_

_Slightly, he adjusted his body into s more comfortable position; somehow, he found it hard to move, like someone was leaning on him. He turned his head to where he felt the weight, and the first thing that his eyes caught were the colour pink, then the smell of Strawberry and cherry-blossoms. Then, his ears picked up the sound of someone sleeping soundly. The pink, the strawberry scent, the sound of someone sleeping... yup, it was her._

_It was Sakura. _

_It was her leaning against his left arm. Naruto blinked at the sleeping form of Sakura and smiled. He felt that even though that Sakura was gone, it seemed like she was closer to him than humanly possible._

The stars were shining up high in the sky. Kenshin always wondered what the stars looked like up close. He sighed, it'd been two months since he had been travelling with the young blond. Tomorrow, Kenshin will be starting the sword training for Naruto. He chuckled at the memory of Naruto begging him to teach him how to use a sword. How time goes... it wonders him.

Kenshin glanced at Naruto, sleeping beside the fire. There was something different about him – Naruto was actually smiling in his sleep. That was the first. Naruto then sigh in relief. Ok, that was also weird, Naruto never sighs in his sleep. Maybe he was finally dreaming something nice. Kenshin smiled at himself and finally let his body relax against the tree he was leaning on. Tomorrow will be a busy day. After that thought, Kenshin let his eyelids fall and let sleep take over him.

_**Next Morning...**_

Kenshin sighed, "Naruto, you know that you're holding the sword wrong."

Naruto looked confuse. He looked down at his hands then looked back up to Kenshin, "How am I holding it wrong?"

Kenshin sighed again. He walked over to Naruto and adjusted Naruto's hands on the hilt of the wooden stick. "There, see the difference, young one."

Naruto had a quizzical expression plastered on his face. He examined his hands that were holding the wooden stick closely, "I don't see the difference?" said Naruto, with the same clueless look.

Instead of sighing, Kenshin groaned in annoyance. How stupid can the 'young one' be? "Ok look closely at your hands. They're separated. Last time, you put them on top of each other, but now, your left hand is at the bottom and your right hand is at the top. If you hold your sword like you are right now, you can control it with ease" Kenshin stated.

Naruto nodded, "Right!"

Kenshin continued, "Next, are the basic strokes" Kenshin pulled out his katana out of its sheath, "Now look." Kenshin hold the sword the way he had told Naruto. "First is the down stroke" Kenshin stated before swinging his sword downwards, "Now you try it Naruto."

Naruto nodded and swung the stick downwards "How's that?" Naruto asked.

"Not bad...but, your body posture wasn't steady. When you swing your sword, your body must be steady or the power of your swing will be decreased" Kenshin explained; his soft face now turned hard serious.

Naruto's face also turned serious, meaning he was finally ready to train properly. "Right! No problem." Naruto nodded again, this time, he was steady and sounded more determined and ready. Naruto straightened his posture, changing his grip on the stick, making it more firm in his hands, and took a deep breath. Finally, he swung the wooden stick downwards. "How was that?"

Kenshin smiled, "Better. Just keep doing that and you'll get use to it in no time."

The day continued on with Naruto practicing his downward strokes while Kenshin just sat back and watched the clouds flew by over them.

Night finally came and Naruto was still training. He was currently half dress as his black shirt was now on the ground soaking wet from his sweat. Seemed like a whole day of training could make you sweat like a waterfall.

"Young one," Kenshin called out from the campfire, "Time to stop training and time to eat dinner."

"No prob!" Naruto called, breathless from the training.

Dinner was plain and mostly quiet, probably because Naruto was busy on munching his food and Kenshin, as usual, ate quietly. The night went on after dinner ordinarily with Naruto just staring at the crackling camp-fire and Kenshin leaning against a tree trunk while watching the stars. Every night, it would be like this. And also as usual, Naruto went to sleep first in his sleeping bag.

But something was also very different tonight when Naruto was asleep. Kenshin noticed that Naruto was mumbling something. Kenshin concentrated his hearing at where Naruto currently was and could hear him saying 'Sakura-chan', it was faint but enough to be heard. Was Naruto dreaming about the pink-haired girl that he used to talk so much about for the past two months? Very likely would be the answer to the question. Kenshin knew that the pink-haired girl meant the world to Naruto.

To Kenshin, from hearing about Sakura from Naruto – Sakura was a girl who would do anything to save the one she loved. The same goes for Naruto too. He sighed. A girl like that was rare in this world, and a guy like Naruto was also rare. Those two would've changed the world together.

At that last thought, Kenshin finally let sleep take him.

_**A week later...**_

"Ah! Don't tell me that we're still doing the basics! I've mastered them already." Whined Naruto.

"Calm down, young one. I know that you're very good with the basics, but 'this one' still thinks that you need more practice. After I think that you're ready – I'll teach you the Hiten-MItsurugi-Ryu sword-style."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, a big grin appeared and his whole face was practically glowing. "You can't be serious! That style that _you_ use! That's so cool, I mean, that ultra super fast sword style. I can't believe it!"

Kenshin chuckled lightly, "Yes that one. So if you want to learn it, I suggest you better practise your basic strokes and the basics of battojutsu too."

Naruto groaned, "Fine... If you say so" said Naruto in defeat. He dragged his feet to his usual training place and started to practice the basics _again_.

Kenshin watched the 'young one' train in amusement. To tell the truth, Kenshin knew that Naruto already mastered the basics, but in a very short time. It was amazing, but Kenshin wanted to see how much better Naruto could get if he trained with basics for a longer time. One thought entered Kenshin's mind – Naruto would kick his ass in a sword duel in less than two years... not really, but probably more than four years... at least, he hoped.

_**A month Later...**_

"FI-NA-LY! I thought that you would never teach me It." said Naruto excitedly.

"Yes...yes, Naruto. Today we begin the Hiten-Mitsurugi sword style. And always, the first step in learning a sword style is to know what the sword style is," Kenshin explained, "Naruto, what does Hiten-Mitsurugi mean?"

Naruto scratched his head and had a quizzical look, "I really have no idea Kenshin-san." Admitted Naruto.

Kenshin sighed and shook his head, "Ok then, since you don't know – Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu means 'Flying Heaven Honorable Sword Style'. And I also assume you don't know what the specialty of the style is – If you master it, your speed will be increased, your reflexes would be faster than yours right now, but that's only part of it. If you master the style, you'll have an ability, like a sixth sense that tells you what your opponent would do next."

Naruto nodded. His once cheerful face was now serious, meaning that he was finally ready to start the training.

"Right then, and so you know young one, all the Hiten-Mitsurugi techniques are lethal, don't use it lightly." Kenshin stated. After receiving a conformation nod from Naruto, Kenshin continued to speak, "Ok, the first thing this one is going to teach is Hiten-Mitsurugi ryu Ryukansen, meaning 'Dragon spiral flash'. This move is used as a counter, meaning, after you dodge an attack that would be the time when you would use this technique" Kenshin explained. "All right, this is an example."

Kenshin moved into a basic sword stance, with his sword pointed forward. He then sidestepped to the left and spun himself outwards and did a horizontal slash to the right. Kenshin turned to Naruto, "That is it, very simple but hard to master. Remember, this technique is use to counter attacks, so only use it after you dodge. Now you try it Naruto"

Naruto got into the same stance as Kenshin did before and did the same thing, sidestepped to the left, spun outwards and did a horizontal slash to the right with his wooden stick. "How's that Kenshin?" asked Naruto.

Kenshin smiled, "Very good young one. Not perfect but better than a started would be. Just keep practicing it and when I think that you're ready, I'll tech you the next Hiten-Mitsurugi ryu move. But always keep this in mind – the Hiten-Mitsurugi sword style can only be achieved with speed, and the user must also be very agile, but knowing that you were once a shinobi, you should be pretty agile." Kenshin stated.

"Right Kenshin, I got it!" Naruto nodded.

"Then continue your training, and also practice your agility skills once in a while or it would get dull." Said Kenshin before he turned around and walked away to their current campsite.

_**One Year Later...**_

Naruto walked happily beside Kenshin as they cross the 'Great Naruto' bridge. Naruto just couldn't wait to see Inari and the others, it's been more than two years since they'd seen each other, and the last time was when they were rebuilding Konoha, which meant that they didn't have enough time to talk to each other.

"Young one, the name of this bridge is yours, is it not?" Kenshin asked while his head turned to every direction, examining the surroundings.

"Yeah, it's my name. Why?"

"Nothing, just 'this one' things that there are no other Narutos in this world, wait... are there?" Kenshin was now scratching his head like a confuse monkey.

A second later, Kenshin was whacked at the back of the head, resulting in him tripping over his own foot. "Dumbass! This bridge was named after ME! M.E!"

"Oro?" Kenshin managed to squeak as his face was flat on the ground.

Naruto sighed and shook his head, "You know Kenshin, sometimes I wonder how you can beat me in a sword duel but cannot dodge a simple whack from the back." Said Naruto in a disappointed mocking voice. He helped Kenshin up and back on his feet, "Come on Kenshin-san, we're almost there anyway. Then, we can start learning a new technique of Hiten-Mitsurugi ryu!"

"Oro?"

"What do you mean 'oro'?"

"Wait young one, let this one count how many Hiten-Mitsurugi techniques that this one has thought." Kenshin then started counting with his fingers like a four year old trying to solve a simple two plus two. "Uh huh! That's it, this one only has to teach you the last Hiten-Mitsurugi technique, also known as the Hiten-Mitsurugi secret technique."

Naruto's face lit up with excitement, "The Hiten-Mitsurugi ryu secret technique! That's so cool! I mean, this technique must be a killer!"

"Oooh yes, it's very lethal. A technique that's faster than the speed of light, it's pretty much impossible to block."

"That's it! There's no way I can wait for you to teach it!" Literally, Naruto picked Kenshin up like a piece of timber and started running into the direction of the town.

Minutes later, Naruto and Kenshin were standing in the middle of a clearing somewhere near Tazuna's house. Somehow, Inari and Naruto suddenly cross roads and noticed each other which resulted in Inari inviting Naruto and Kenshin to stay at his house. Now though, Inari was watching Naruto from the sidelines.

"Alright, lets' do this!" cheered Naruto.

Kenshin smiled at Naruto, it seemed like the young man that he found on the side of the road was finally showing his true colours. "Calm down young one, the Hiten-Mitsurugi-ryu secret technique is very hard to learn. I know that you are a very fast learner, but trust me – this technique is harder to master than the others that this one had thought you, young one..." Kenshin explained his face once again, turned from his soft face to the one he wore in a battle. "So are you ready for this?" Kenshin asked, eyes narrowing.

Naruto smirked, a toothy one. It showed his determination and his eagerness to learn. Naruto brought up his right hand and gave a thumbs up, "Of course I am, believe it!"

And once again, Kenshin's face softened and a smiled appeared on his face. "Glad to hear it, young one. Let us get started."

**End Chapter 2**

**Well that's it for chapter 2; it's pretty short, probably because I don't want to stretch it out too much. So this chapter is pretty much about him training with swords, and next chapter is the continue of this chapter, also about him training with swords, and getting his own too :) So I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_**REVEIW!**_

**-FOXSAGE-**


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